County concerned about casino

Wednesday

Dec 11, 2013 at 10:53 AM

Kevin Dickinson

A proposed casino in Yreka has the county Board of Supervisors wondering about its impact on roads and the justice system.On Tuesday, the board discussed a response letter to the Karuk Tribe's Draft Tribal Environmental Impact Report for the upcoming casino."Unfortunately the TEIR does a fairly poor job of analyzing potential impacts," Richard Tinsman, deputy director of planning, said. "I don't think this will be the first draft that we see."The letter – prepared by county staff – provides comments on deficiencies the county wishes to be reconsidered.Among its considerations, the letter requests a discussion of any potential travel center, which is absent from the current TEIR; concerns over inadequate transportation facilities along Sharps Road; and a more thorough analysis on the potential strains the casino would have on Siskiyou County's jail, justice system and law enforcement agencies."It's very important that these issues be determined to make sure there is adequate mitigation in place," Tinsman said.Supervisor Marcia Armstrong asked for information on how other counties had been affected by casinos in their social services, but County Counsel Brian Morris said they did not "have adequate information," calling what they did have "anecdotal."One figure mentioned by Tinsman came from the Amador County district attorney, who stated that 27 percent of the documented felonies were related to the Jackson Rancheria Casino Resort. "We're already – with felonies – we're at maximum and letting people out of the jail," Armstrong said.Supervisor Michael Kobseff said, "The tribes are not required to pay taxes. (The casino) needs to pay for those impacts it's going to have consequences to. We are going to bear some of these costs."Supervisor Brandon Criss agreed. "This is a little different than other businesses, such as Crystal Geyser, because they all pay taxes for the services they render. The concern here is that we want to get this right."Supervisor Grace Bennett said that social services needed to be emphasized even if not covered by the compact, "so that we don't have any more domestic violence or kids who don't have food, or all those problems that usually happen when a casino comes in."Speaking about her experience on the city council, Bennett said she wants everything done on this project to be in writing. "I was on the city council when we allowed the tribe to take this land into trust, and many, many times we asked them if they were going to put a casino on it," Bennett said. "The answer was always no; it was only for housing. And as you can see today, that's not the way it turned out."Two residents also spoke during public comment.Richard Marshall, president of the Siskiyou Water Users Association, said he saw problems in past dealings with the Karuk Tribe, giving examples such as its role in the dam removal controversy."I would just ask that you be very careful in your dealings with the Karuks on these issues," Marshall said.Gary Lake, past councilmember for the Karuk Tribe, also spoke. He noted there was "very aggressive language" in the 2005 casino compact regarding funding dam removal with casino profits."I would also like to point out, once again, that the Karuk Tribe is building outside their aboriginal territory now," Lake said. "Keep in mind within your dealings that these are tactics that will continue with this type of leadership."The supervisors approved the draft of the letter to be sent to the Karuk Tribe."I think we all know by now the governor has signed the compact," said Supervisor Ed Valenzuela. "I think what we need to do is make sure we do coordinate with the city of Yreka to make sure we're all on the same page and have that ongoing dialogue and take care of our end of the equation."